ARCHIMEDES

Birth: 287 B.C. /Death :212 B.C.
ARCHIMEDES - Biography


Archimedes is rightly considered the most famous mathematician and inventor of ancient Greece. Archimedes is forever to be known to the world of science through his discovery of the relation between the surface and volume of a sphere and its circumscribing cylinder. He is known for his formulation of a hydrostatic principle (known as Archimedes Principle) and a device for raising water, still used in developing countries, known as the Archimedes Screws.

It is generaly believed that Archimedes spent Some time in Egypt early in his career, but he resided for most of his life at Syracuse in Sicily. He had maintained a very intimate relation with king, Hieron II. He played an important role in the defense of Syracuse against the siege laid by the
Romans in 213 B.C. by constructing war machines so effective that they long delayed the capture of the city. When Syracuse eventually fell to the Romans he was killed in the city.

There is an interesting episode in the life of Archimedes where he had to run down the street to the King's palace, naked. It was when he struck upon an idea of determining the proportion of gold and silver in a crown made for Hieron by weighing it in water. He was so excited by this idea that he jumped out of his bathtub and ran nake through the streets to the palace shouting "Eureka!" ("I have found it!").

There are nine treatises written by Archimedes in Greek and the most important of them all is 'On the Sphere and Cylinder'

Archimedes was also known as an outstanding astronomer and his observations were used by
Hipparchus, the foremost ancient astronomer. However, very little is known of this side of Archimedes' activity.